Incredible what 2 years can bring

July 24, 2013

The other day I wrote what has so far been my  most popular post. I felt inspired, so I wrote it. And then I went on with my day. But that night, just before bed, I looked at my calendar and saw the note I had made for myself a while back: it was the 2 year anniversary of this blog!

Anniversary

I feel bad, like I forgot a friend’s birthday. This blog has been so helpful for me, and I forgot its anniversary! It got me thinking, too, about how much has changed since I started writing this.

Two years ago I was just starting to feel much worse, which in hindsight is probably why I started this blog when I did. I wrote every single day for months, until my energy waned and I was forced to cut back. Still, even now it’s rare for me to have a day that I don’t think about what to write here. I have so many ideas, so many posts composed in my mind, and I hope that one day I can type them all out.

Two years ago I was typing into emptiness. My mom would sometimes read my blog, but that was about it. Now I have Subscribingdozens of readers on my mailing list, many more who follow me through twitter, and probably more I don’t know about who use Feedly, Digg, or some other reader. I get comments, which mean so much to me. It’s fantastic to know that people enjoy, are touched, or feel comforted by this blog. I want so much to reach out, and this my way of doing it.

Two years ago I thought I communicated well about my illnesses. Now I know better. As I write about things I often don’t even think to discuss, I realize how much I censor, whether intentionally or not. When I question if I should write about something, I realize that if I can’t be open about it here, in relative anonymity, then I must be pretty closed in real life. And when people comment on certain posts to say how rare it is to have these discussions, I remember that I’m not the only one with this problem.

Two years ago I was working full time. I knew my days of working full time were limited, but I expected to count them in years, not weeks. Now I have been out of work for almost as long as this blog has been around. I didn’t immediately return as I had hoped, and I’ve been coping with that. I don’t know if I will return to work some day. I hope that I will. But I’m trying to accept the uncertainty of it all.

Two years ago I thought I knew what was causing the worst of my health problems. Now, through a lot of research, I’ve found multiple other possible causes. I’ve discovered ways that I’ve been improperly treated. I have learned about new tests that need to be run. I have looked for new practitioners to see, including “non-traditional” ones.

Two years ago I thought I could never make “drastic” changes to my diet. Now I’ve redefined “drastic” because the changes are so worthwhile that I no longer think of them as being difficult. Food doesn’t matter. Health matters. Food is a means to an end for me, so I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure my food isn’t making me sick.

Two years ago I needed to vent. I got frustrated by so many health-related issues. My family and friends tried to understand, but they just didn’t get it. Now I have you. You understand. Sometimes things happen that suck and it helps to commiserate with people who’ve been through it themselves. Insensitive comments and rude actions need to be changed, but we also need to deal with them ourselves on a case-by-case basis. You’ve helped me do that. This blog has been more cathartic than I ever would have imagined when I started writing it.

So thank you for two wonderful years. It’s been a wonderful journey so far and I’m looking forward to seeing it continue.

—–

Edit: I forgot to mention that this is my 357th post here. In case you were wondering (I was, which is why I went back to look it up.)

1 Comment | Expectations, Frustration, Isolation, Job, Raves, Support, Symptoms, Unpredictable | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

Fuck the shoulds

July 17, 2013

I don’t get this mad very often, but right now I’m completely pissed off. I want to take all of the “shoulds” and get rid of them forever.

Let’s look at a few: I should handle this problem better. I should be smarter/wiser in this situation. I should be more patient. I shouldn’t let myself feel sick. I should have more self control. I should be a better friend/sibling/parent/worker by nature. I should know how to fix this. I should I should I should….

Ok, be honest, how many of these have you thought to your self? I’m betting at least one, but probably a lot more, not to mention many others I didn’t write out. Some of these are internal shoulds (we burden ourselves with these assumptions) and others are external (other people push them on us.) It’s important to look at the two separately, and I may do that on another day, but today I’m concerned that they exist at all.

Let’s get on the same page here: there are no shoulds in life. We are who we are. Well ok, there are some shoulds: We should all try to be decent human beings who care for one another and try not to hurt each other. But as for the rest, it’s complete bullshit. Giving birth doesn’t magically turn someone into a knowledgeable parent. Getting a job doesn’t magically make someone a great worker. Being sick doesn’t magically make someone strong enough to handle it. Just just not how life works.

I was recently talking with other folks with chronic illnesses and I noticed the same themes: people thought they should be able to handle their problems better just because it’s assumed of them. They felt they’d failed because they needed help. For some reason, not being able to do absolutely everything was considered a failure. Why is this? We’re only human. We ask for help with all sorts of things. When my friends’ roof leaked, they knew they couldn’t fix it themselves so they hired someone to do that. Is that so bad? When my grandfather has computer problems, he calls me to ask for help. What’s wrong with that? And if I feel too ill to get to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription then I’ll ask a friend to do it for me, and no one better dare suggest that’s any sort of weakness on my part. In fact, I think it’s a strength. It’s hard for many of us to ask for help, and knowing our limitations and respecting them enough to ask for help is a sign of how strong we are, not how weak.

A friend asked me to help her out with her kids. She was alone while their dad was out of town on business and she felt overwhelmed. Like me, she isn’t good at asking for help, so when I saw her message I knew it was serious. I was relieved that I was having a “good” day and was able to go over to help out. Sure enough, she was at her wit’s end. She was overwhelmed and exhausted. Having someone else there to watch the kids, give them food, keep them from crying, and all that other good stuff really helped her out. But afterwards, she talk about how she felt she wasn’t a good mother. Why? Because she felt she should be more patient. She should never get frustrated with her kids. She should never lose her temper. I pointed out that being a mom doesn’t make her less human. Of course she’s still going to lose her patience! There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as she keeps it within reason and asks for help when she needs it, like she did that day. But the part that pisses me off about this is that I’ve heard this same thing from so many friends who are moms! They all feel that they should be better, that simply because they have two X chromosomes and some kids, they’re supposed to magically be perfect parents. And they’re so embarrassed that they’re not perfect that they don’t talk about it, so they don’t realize it’s happening to everyone else, too. I think they tell me because I’m not a parent, so I can’t judge. But it also means I can’t reassure them.

The same is true for chronically ill folks. We hear the stories about the one-legged marathon runner or the person with MS hiking a canyon, and we figure we should  be able to at least get to the grocery store. We don’t talk to each other so we don’t realize that just about all of us are going through the same thing. We all have limitations. We all have obstacles we overcomes and obstacles we don’t. There are no shoulds in life, just life itself. We all have limitations, and expecting them to disappear because they should won’t help at all.

It’s time we all talk to each other. Let’s open up the discussion. We’re all doing the best we can and that’s fucking awesome. Let’s not diminish that. Let’s celebrate it!

10 Comments | Educating, Expectations, Frustration, Isolation, Limitations, Rants, Support | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

And then I woke up

July 14, 2013

I’ve been feeling relatively good lately. A couple supplement changes have resulted in more energy, and the recent break in heat and humidity have allowed me to go outside, which greatly helps my mental and emotional outlooks. It’s been really fantastic.

That’s why I was so happy yesterday. I managed to go to a potluck picnic. It was cool enough that I felt ok being outside despite the humidity. I spent time with friends. I laughed and had fun. I was there for 3 hours, which felt like a long time. I wanted to see another friend afterwards but I was tired, so I went home and watched a movie. All in all, it was a great day and I was happy.

Then I woke up this morning and I felt lousy. My throat hurt, a sure sign that my thyroid was acting up, and I had that run down-dragged out feeling. I had gotten up to go to the bathroom around 5am, and that’s when my throat first started to hurt. Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the lack of sleep, but my body wasn’t happy. When I woke up at 9:30, late even by my standards, it was worse. I wanted to go back to sleep. I just felt miserable.

I knew immediately that I’d be skipping the brunch I had been looking forward to attending. It was already late, I definitely didn’t feel up to rushing, or even moving at a medium speed. Plus, it would involve talking to a lot of people I don’t know, which would mean acting like I felt ok even though I didn’t. No way I’d be doing that. And then I though about my afternoon plans. I’d been feeling so good lately that I ambitiously made plans to do two things in one day. So much for that. I just hoped I could keep the afternoon plans! And what about my plans for tomorrow? That’s something I’ve really been looking forward to for a while, so I hope I don’t have to cancel! And later this week I’m supposed to do something with a friend, it’s our one and only chance, so if I cancel, we won’t be able to reschedule.

And then I took a step back. Yes, I feel horrible today. Yes, I could be getting sick and I could spend the next week in bed. But it’s also possible that this is a short-term reaction to something and that I’ll feel better tomorrow. Who knows? That’s one of the annoying-as-hell aspects to these kinds of illnesses: they’re entirely unpredictable.

So for now I’m waiting and hoping. I still haven’t decided if I’ll see my friends this afternoon, even though I’d have to leave my house in just 2 hours. They’ll understand if I can’t make it. I’m definitely skipping the brunch today. And I can decide on everything else later. I just wish I could go back and change that feeling I had when I woke up.

Leave a Comment » | Expectations, Fatigue, Frustration, Isolation, Limitations, Rants, Symptoms, Unpredictable | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

What is so hard about sharing medical records?

July 11, 2013

I put a file into Dropbox on my computer, and suddenly I can access it on my phone or on another computer’s browser, as long as I have the password. The technology is there, so why can’t we share medical records?

My last rheumatology appointment was good, but it could have been better. It would have been nice if she knew what blood tests I’d had done lately. Unfortunately, she had zero information on that. I have some info, but it was at home. I hadn’t thought to bring it. Digitalization of medical records has been spreading and I love it. Unfortunately, at best it has been happening within individual medical practices and hospital systems, but not across them. This means that if you see 5 doctors at Beth Israel, they can all see each other’s tests, notes, comments, etc. However, if you see 4 doctors at Beth Israel and 1 doctor at Mass General, the Mass General doctor can’t see anything from the others. And this is what happened to me at my rheum appointment. She had just switched to a new hospital. The old hospital was supposed to send my records over months ago, but they’re backlogged and hadn’t gotten to it. Even worse, none of my other doctors are in this hospital system, so she can’t see their notes, either. We were stuck.

As for me, I can only see certain things from one hospital. Thankfully, that hospital realizes how useful it is for patients to see their own medical info. I can’t see everything, but I can see most test results. That’s fantastic! Unfortunately, I can’t see any other information, and the other hospital networks I’m using don’t have this option as far as I know.

I’m certain it doesn’t have to be this way. Yes, it’s important to have security measures in place. I definitely don’t want random people seeing my medical information! But should I be able to access my records whenever I want? Why must I make multiple phone calls, pay a fee (paying a fee to see my own records is absurd!) and wait for weeks or even months just to see my own records? Why can’t my doctors all see each other’s notes and labs? It would improve my healthcare greatly!

It is unrealistic to assume a patient will only see doctors in one hospital network. In fact, that’s one reason my original diagnosis was delayed for so many years – my PCP refused to refer me outside of his network, and they didn’t have the right specialist. If I’d been sent to the right specialist, I could have potentially been diagnosed many years earlier and had very different outcomes.

I have been going to the trouble of getting copies of all of my labs over the last several months. It’s a big effort, bigger than it should be, so far, it’s been worth it. And that’s why later today, I’m going to head over to the library to copy those labs (yes, I know photocopiers save images, but what choice do I have?) I’m seeing a new doctor in a new network in a few weeks. I’ve been waiting for months to get into this particular practice and I finally have an appointment. Unfortunately, he won’t have access to any of my medical records, so it’s up to me to bring them. I will spend time, energy, and money to make copy after copy. Then I will bring the large stack of papers with me, and it will be up to the doctor to find the relevant ones, since there won’t be any easy sort or filter options as there would, or at least should, be on a computer.

This system is harder than it needs to be and it’s hurting patients. It needs to change. If the goal in seeing doctors and other medical professionals is to get healthy, then shouldn’t this be considered a priority?

1 Comment | Educating, Expectations, Frustration, Healthcare, Limitations, Politics, Rants | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »